Barstool Banter
by JPsmiles
Summary: Face drowning his sorrows...a short story.


Barstool Banter

He knew he had been acting up lately. He had stopped calling to check in all the time. He was trying to avoid Hannibal and B.A. as much as possible. And then when they were together, he would find himself making smart-ass comments and being a full-blown jerk.

Things were different since their escape from Fort Bragg. Things were different, because _they_ were different.

B.A. had started to wear more gold than most of his dates. Then he shaved his head to look like a landing strip...ironic since the man hates to fly. And B.A.'s "Bad Attitude" seemed to be going from bad to worse.

And then there was Hannibal. Hannibal was used to being their Colonel, leading them into battle, and giving out the orders. But now it felt as if he were being smothered by the older man and his bazillion rules. He knew that Hannibal was only trying to keep them safe, but they weren't in the army anymore and he didn't want to feel as if he still were.

Making matters worse was that his best friend Murdock had been committed to the V.A. hospital as a mental patient. The pilot had a bit of a break down after the time they spent in the camps. He had started to hallucinate and would have these awful panic attacks. Murdock was the one guy he could really talk to, and he missed him terribly.

They found Face sitting at the bar by himself. He looked so scared and alone...and so young! Not yet 21, he was still a kid! A very annoying and infuriating kid of late, but still a kid.

"Mind if we sit down?" Hannibal asked, not waiting for an answer before plopping down on the barstool to Face's right. B.A. held up three fingers to the bartender to order a round of beers, and then took the seat to Face's left.

"It's a free country," Face snipped, chugging what was left in his bottle. "At least for most people it is," he mumbled under his breath.

"Alright kid, what's been eating at you lately?" Hannibal demanded.

"Yeah Faceman...you've been a complete pain in the butt...even more than usual!" B.A. grunted while handing each man a beer.

"Nothin's eating at me." He tried to sound convincing, but his watery eyes were giving him away. 'Damn,' he thought, "why'd I drink so much? I always turn to mush and start to babble.'

Hannibal and B.A. just sat there drinking their beer. They knew it was only a matter of time before Face started to talk...alcohol was like truth serum to the younger man.

Face took a deep, quivering breath. "In Nam we were forced to stick together...we were a unit. We were friends because we had no other choice; we only had each other." Hannibal and B.A. shot each other a look. They could see where this was going. Face was afraid they were going to leave him. It was an old fear stemming back to his childhood as an orphan.

"But we're not in Nam anymore and..." Face paused looking down at his beer, "…and there's no reason for you guys to want me around anymore."

"Whatcha' talkin' about fool? B.A. exclaimed. Seeing the startled look on his friend's face, he softened his tone and questioned, "What makes you think we don't want you around?"

"Face, we were your friends in Nam because we liked you, not because we were on the same team," Hannibal tried to explain.

B.A. snorted, "There were lots of guys we served with that I didn't consider to be my friend, I just put up with them 'cause I had to." B.A. smiled a rare smile, "I put up with you, 'cause I liked you...you were an okay dude."

Face sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You 'liked' me then, but what about now? We're all so...so...different."

"So, we are a bit different," Hannibal agreed. "But at the core, we are still the same people..."

B.A. cut Hannibal off, "We liked the old you, and we like the new you...even though it hasn't been easy recently."

Hannibal took Face by the chin and made him look at him. "Listen kid, I know you've been doing everything in your power to tick us off and to push us away. But it's not going to work, so cut it out! You're stuck with us, like it or not."

A tear ran down Face's cheek and he quickly swiped it away with his sleeve. "I like it," he smiled.

"Good! Then as head of the A-team, I propose a toast: To old friends!" The three men clinked their bottles together.

Before taking a drink Face added, "and new friends too!"

The End


End file.
